


A Chance Meeting

by doodles357



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - High School, Chance Meetings, Eventual Romance, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 15:06:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18478720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doodles357/pseuds/doodles357
Summary: Cyrus was just trying to read in the park when a stray football knocked him out. At least the guy who hit him is really sorry (and really cute).





	A Chance Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> High school!AU with slight book nerd!TJ.

It was getting to be that time of year where it felt like summer outside, but school was still in session. While Cyrus generally enjoyed school, he found it hard to concentrate when it was warm and sunny out and he was stuck indoors. So, when he realized he wasn’t getting through his required reading for the weekend because he kept glancing out his window at the bright blue sky, he decided that he would give in to temptation and spend some time outside.

There was a park that was only a few blocks from his house, so he grabbed a spare blanket from the closet in the hall and headed out. As he walked, he couldn’t help but appreciate the feel of the warm sun on his skin. He much preferred the warmer months to the winter ones, and he was grateful that he no longer needed to bundle up just to go outside.

When he reached the park, he found that a lot of people had the same idea as him and were outside enjoying the nice weather. Children scrambled up and down the jungle gym and shrieked with laughter on the swings. Some people were just sitting at picnic tables, talking in groups or reading individually. A group of boys tossed a football around in the open, grassy area, and some girls were doing yoga off to the side. He found a patch of grass underneath a tree where he spread his blanket out and plopped down. The tree provided a nice back rest, and after popping an earbud in and playing his ‘study’ playlist, he got back into _Lord of the Flies_.

He smiled slightly as he felt the warm breeze twist and wrap around him, and he soon found himself lost in the story. All the background noise from the park faded away, and he only paused to underline important passages in the book. At least this book was able to capture his attention; _Heart of Darkness_ had almost put him to sleep. He became so wrapped up in the story that he didn’t hear the panicked shouts aimed in his direction. All of a sudden, something smacked him very hard in the side of the head.

When he came to, the first thing he became aware of was the pounding pain in his head, along with a stinging sensation on the side of his face. It was dark out too; he couldn’t feel the warmth of the sun anymore. Then he realized that someone was talking very close to him.

“Oh my God, oh my God, please wake up, I’m so sorry, oh God!”

Cyrus groaned, carefully flexing his muscles. He realized he was lying sideways on the blanket, his phone digging uncomfortably into his side. Aside from his head, nothing else hurt. He pried his eyes open and saw a pair of legs right in front of him. Whoever it was had knelt down next to him on the blanket and was leaning over him, which explained why the sun was being blocked. He felt a hand resting on his shoulder, and realized the voice was coming from the body next to him.

“Are you okay?” the voice asked frantically, and Cyrus attempted to sit up. He groaned again as his head spun from the sudden movement.

“Careful, careful,” the voice cautioned, and Cyrus felt hands gently helping him into a sitting position. One of his hands cautiously touched the side of his face. He could vaguely remember something hitting him there, and some buried memories from middle school seemed to resurface as he realized it was some kind of ball.

“I’m really sorry,” the voice said, and Cyrus finally focused on the person in front of him. It was a guy, probably about the same age as him. He was probably one from the group that was playing football. Even though Cyrus was still confused at what had happened, and his head was still pounding, he couldn’t help but notice that the guy was extremely cute. And apparently very worried, if his expression was anything to go by.

“What happened?” Cyrus croaked out.

“We were playing catch, and I made a stupid throw,” the guy explained. “It flew over here and hit you. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Cyrus replied, rubbing the side of his face. He didn’t think that he had ever been hit in the face with a football before. A kickball, definitely. Also, a soccer ball. The football was new though.

“Can I get you anything?” the guy asked, still sounding worried. “An ice pack or something?”

“Do you have one?” Cyrus asked in surprise. The stinging on his face was fading, although his head still hurt pretty bad.

“Well…no,” the guy admitted. “But I could run to the store and get one if you really need one.”

“No, that’s fine,” Cyrus said. “It’s not hurting as badly anymore.”

“Are you sure?” the guy asked. He had shifted his position so that he was sitting instead of kneeling, still facing Cyrus. “I feel really bad.”

“It was an accident,” Cyrus said. “Really, it’s fine.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” the guy said, still sounding worried. He glanced around before leaning over to grab something out of the grass. “Here. This yours?”

It was his book. Apparently, it had flown out of his hands upon impact. Cyrus nodded and accepted it. He had completely lost his place and was struggling to remember where he had left off.

“How do you like it so far?” Cyrus looked up in surprise. The guy was looking at the book in interest.

“It’s pretty good,” Cyrus replied. “Have you read it?”

“Yeah, I read it last semester for my AP Lit class,” the guy shrugged. “It definitely made me think a lot.”

“I’m reading it right now for that class,” Cyrus said. “Where do you go to school?”

“Monroe,” the guy said. It was the high school in the town over. “What about you?”

“Grant,” Cyrus said. “Do you spend a lot of time in Shadyside?”

“I used to live here,” the guy said. “We moved when I was a sophomore, so I have a lot of friends here still.”

“Makes sense,” Cyrus agreed. Part of him wanted to giggle at the situation. He had just been knocked out, but here he was, sitting here with the guy who had hit him in the first place, talking about their AP books.

“What?” the guy asked, seeing the expression on Cyrus’ face.

“So, we’re just going to sit here and talk books?” Cyrus asked, biting back a laugh. The guy flushed slightly and shook his head.

“Sorry,” he said. “I got distracted. You’re still in pain, and I’m an idiot.”

“No, I’m really fine,” Cyrus reassured him. “Can I at least know your name?”

“Are you going to press charges?” the guy asked.

“Promise I won’t,” Cyrus said, crossing his heart and biting back another giggle. The guy smiled and seemed to relax.

“TJ,” he said, holding out his hand.

“Cyrus.” He took the proffered hand and shook it. The guy had slightly calloused fingers, probably from playing sports. Cyrus ignored the shiver that went through his body when they made contact.

They heard shouting from the group of TJ’s friends, who were clearly expecting him to come back and play. He waved them off, however, and turned his attention back to Cyrus.

To Cyrus’ surprise, they fell into an easy conversation. TJ jumped back into the book discussion, which he was pretty passionate about.

“It’s a whole commentary on how there’s the potential for people to be evil and forgo civility if given the opportunity,” TJ said, stretching back on the blanket. “Obviously not everyone would, but a lot of people definitely would if they were in that position.”

“Would they though?” Cyrus argued back. “This is just a group of spoiled, rich, white boys. Who’s to say that a different group of people would act the same? It’s not exactly a whole picture of society.”

“Oh, I know,” TJ countered. “My teacher said something similar. All of a sudden, a lot of guys in the class got super offended. It was pretty funny actually.”

“So, you don’t agree?” Cyrus asked. He found that he was enjoying the debate and was genuinely interested in what TJ had to say.

“I think it depends on the people,” he said. “And the combination of people. Mob mentality and all that. But you don’t think a bunch of teenagers stuck on an island together wouldn’t eventually turn on each other?”

“Well, like you said, it depends,” Cyrus said. “Drama club? Definitely. Chess club? Probably not.”

TJ cracked up, and Cyrus found himself laughing along with him. He didn’t think his joke was that funny, but TJ clearly did, and he had one of those infectious laughs that one couldn’t help but join in with. Their conversation shifted a bit, and it turned to books they were reading for fun. Cyrus couldn’t help but be somewhat surprised at how enthusiastic TJ was about it. Any other day, and he would have passed TJ off as a typical jock who didn’t care about school, but he seemed to be very smart and had some interesting viewpoints on topics.

Their conversation spiraled from books to several other topics over the course of the afternoon. Cyrus had never found it so easy to talk with someone before, especially someone who was essentially a stranger to him. His book lay forgotten at his side, and soon he even forgot the pain in his head from the football mishap. Before he knew it, TJ’s friends were calling his name and gesturing for him to come over.

“I think they’re getting ready to leave,” TJ said almost apologetically. “They’re my ride, so I have to get going.”

“Okay,” Cyrus said, feeling disappointed that their time together was up. “Thanks for the conversation.”

TJ’s eyes widened. “Oh no, I distracted you from your reading, didn’t I? On top of knocking you out too!”

He looked so distressed that Cyrus had to laugh. “It’s okay, really. I can always finish my reading later. Plus, my head doesn’t hurt anymore, so it’s all good.”

TJ looked a little more relieved and hesitated slightly before pulling out his phone.

“Can I have your number?” he asked. “I have several book recommendations I need to send you.” He added the second part as almost an afterthought, as though he needed to give a reason as to why he wanted the number. Cyrus felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach, and he smiled and recited his number to TJ. A few seconds later, he felt the telltale buzz next to his leg.

“Now you have my number too,” TJ said, smiling at Cyrus. His friends shouted his name again, and he jumped to his feet, looking somewhat reluctant to leave.

“I’ll…talk to you later?” he said to Cyrus, looking both nervous and hopeful at the same time.

“Definitely,” Cyrus agreed. “I have several things to say about your thoughts on how _Brave New World_ is the superior dystopian novel.”

TJ just laughed and said goodbye before jogging over to where his friends were waiting. They were too far away for Cyrus to hear what they were saying, but from the amount of jostling and friendly punches that TJ was getting, he had the feeling they were teasing him about something. As they walked towards the parking lot, TJ turned back one last time and waved at Cyrus, who returned the gesture.

He looked at the time and was surprised to find that it was close to suppertime already. Standing up, he folded up his blanket and gathered all his stuff before heading home. Even though he hadn’t gotten a ton of reading done, he figured he would be able to finish it the next day. Plus, he and TJ had gotten into quite a detailed debate about the topics raised in the book, which was probably more than he would get in school. For an AP class made up of people who were supposed to be good at English, they weren’t very good at actually discussing anything they read.

When he got home, he pulled up the text that TJ had sent him in the park. It simply said _hi_ with a smiley face next to it. Smiling widely, he saved TJ as a contact, and started scrolling through the list of books he had read. He figured that recommending one would be a great way to get the conversation rolling again. And who knew? Maybe they would talk about something other than books in the future. Despite the painful way that they had been introduced, Cyrus couldn’t help but feel happy about how his afternoon had turned out.

**Author's Note:**

> For the month of April, I'm doing Camp Nano, and essentially writing a bunch of one and two shots based around Andi Mack (also while trying to survive the hiatus). Feel free to drop me some prompts either here or on my tumblr @stephadoodles!


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